Writing Bloopers by Ashlyn Chase
Once upon a time, this writer was comparing a situation in one of her books to a situation most readers would be familiar with. Something to the effect of: Little Red Riding Hood wouldn’t have been as surprised as my heroine was when the three bears showed up.
Or, maybe she would have, since my critique partner pointed out there were no bears in Little Red Riding Hood. Only a lone wolf.
Duh…
Ever since I began dictating my books, I’ve had to rely more heavily on critique partners, beta readers, and editors to catch my mistakes. And there have been plenty of them! In fact, I could have subtitled this piece, Thank Goodness for a Second Pair of Eyes!
I like to put out as clean a product as possible so if I’m writing an Indie, I hire a proofreader after all the others have taken a crack at my unpublished manuscript. I know we’re all human and make mistakes, but I’m a reader too and a lot of typos can be distracting. Plus it makes it look like the author doesn’t care.
Here’s another prime example. Before my dictation’s recent software upgrade it really resisted typing naughty words. That was terribly inconvenient back when I was writing erotic romance. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to change the word ‘fork’ to the word I actually wanted. And can you imagine the difference? Ouch! Those watch tines, buddy!
Or maybe it was because of my Boston Accent. We’ll never know. Between three or more of us, I think we caught them all. Ah… Adventures in dictation.
One of the most puzzling errors a critique partner caught even had me scratching my head. She asked, ‘What are heart knit pulls?’ Hmmm… I had no idea until I went back and reread the first draft, hoping to solve the mystery from context. I burst out laughing when I realized it was supposed to say hard nipples!
O.M.G.
If this story telling gig weren’t so much a part of me, I might have given up after having spinal surgery, but you readers have us over a barrel. Most writers can’t not write. Pardon the double negative. And we can’t not make mistakes either. (Ugh. Two double negatives)! Now that I’ve upgraded to the latest software and downgraded my heat level, all is well. Or better.
Oh, fork.
Check out more from Ashlyn Chase on her Website and on Social Media.
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